Supplier: Drug sold to Arkansas not intended for executions

A medical supply company says a drug it sold to Arkansas that will be used to execute seven inmates before the end of the month was not intended to be used for lethal injection.

The Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A medical supply company says a drug it sold to Arkansas that will be used to execute seven inmates before the end of the month was not intended to be used for lethal injection.

McKesson said it's considering legal action to get the drug back.

The San Francisco-based company said in a statement released Thursday night that it sold vecuronium bromide to Arkansas' prison system believing it would be used for medical purposes. McKesson says once it learned otherwise, it requested the drug be returned, but it never was.

The drug is made by Pfizer. The drugmaker says McKesson sold the drug to Arkansas without its knowledge. Two other pharmaceutical companies have asked a judge to prohibit Arkansas from using their drugs in the upcoming multiple executions.